Dundee United are just as hungry for points as Hamilton despite Accies being cast adrift at the bottom of the SPL.
That is the view of Tannadice manager Peter Houston, who noted with interest that St Mirren’s win over Motherwell moved the Buddies eight clear of Billy Reid’s strugglers, who lost at Aberdeen on Tuesday.
The Tangerines are in their own battle as they prepare for the trip to New Douglas Park, striving to get back into the top half of the table as the season prepares to enter spring.
With only seven points covering half a dozen teams in their area of the division, though, Houston insisted points are just as precious for United as they are for Saturday’s opponents.
“We had Hamilton watched up at Aberdeen and they were really unfortunate to lose the game,” he said.
“By all accounts, for large parts of the match they did really well. They will be deflated that St Mirren won the following night at Motherwell but that makes them even more dangerous from our perspective.
“They desperately need the points but we are looking for points as well.
“It is congested in our area of the table as teams try to get into the top six so that is why the games we have coming up are vital to us.
“We need to try to get three points from games rather than the one we took from the St Johnstone game on Tuesday night.”
United are no strangers to Hamilton or New Douglas Park, having beaten Accies in the Scottish Cup there less than three weeks ago.
“We got a really professional performance from the players down there but I think this will be a different type of game because Hamilton will be stronger than they were that day,” added Houston.
“If we get the same result I will be delighted but we are going to have to work really hard for the victory.
“The way the SPL is, you don’t really have to watch the opposition team because you know each other so well.
“I can tell you everything about the Hamilton players and Billy Reid can say the same about us.”